Tag Archives: rigid

Another Project wAmmo CM400 Update

Posted on by Motopsycho

It’s time for another Project wAmmo CM400 update. Let’s start with my confession that I lost interest in the project for a little while and was really short on time for it. Had some issues with getting the frame sandblasted so I wound up bringing it back home and hit the frame with some paint remover and went over it with my little hand held sandblaster before coating it with spray on truck bed liner. Did the same thing for the tank before brazing up a couple of damaged spots on it and sealing it with Caswell Epoxy Gas Tank Sealer. I also wound up replacing the fork because I was unable to identify the one that was on it to get the proper repair parts so I replaced it, and installed a set of tapered roller steering head bearings for good measure.

<project wammo cm400 bobber>

I got the modified Harley solo seat covered in olive drab Cordura fabric to match the overall theme planned for the bike.

<olive drab solo seat>

Even though the engine would start and run okay, compression on the right cylinder was consistently 50 psi less than the left cylinder. Even after adjusting the valves (click here for the proper procedure) which didn’t help, and putting some oil in the cylinder to see if it would come back up temporarily indicating worn rings, the right side was still 50 psi lower than the left side so I went ahead and pulled the engine apart for a top end overhaul.

<CM400 Engine top end>

The problem turned out to be that the oil rings were frozen to the piston and the gaps were aligned on the top 2 rings preventing them from sealing. The downside to this bike originally being such an artistically created “natural” ratbike is that it was incredibly nasty. Here I am soda blasting the cylinder to clean it. Yes that is the cheap hand held sandblaster
and it works just fine with blasting soda, so if you’re on a budget & just need to clean a few small parts without damaging them the way sandblasting can try this. Just do not hit any gasket mating surfaces with the soda.

<soda blast motorcycle cylinder>

Once everything was cleaned & honed I taped off the mating surfaces so that I could spray on some Duplicolor cast iron gray engine paint.

<paint prep motorcycle cylinder>

<Honda CM400 clutch cover>

The original clutch cover will be replaced with this good used one and since I was not splitting the cases for a full overhaul I sealed up the bottom half of the engine with duct tape so that I could degrease it and remove the existing paint.

<aircraft peeler really works>

Since the head needed a good clean up, it became the subject of a head service tutorial that you can read by clicking here. The next picture is of the original pistons with new rings ready for the cylinder to be re-installed. The blocks of wood  held the pistons up and level while beautiful assistant slid the cylinder slowly into place while I compressed the rings.

<Honda CM400 pistons>

<freshly honed Honda cylinder>

This looks a lot better than the before picture doesn’t it? Once I got the head back on it was time to line up the timing marks for the crankshaft & camshaft as shown below and put the camshaft back in.

<Honda 400 timing marks>

<Honda 400 twin camshaft timing>

Afterwards it was just a matter of putting the rest of the parts back on and torquing everything down properly. Don’t forget to fill the oil pockets under the cam lobes with oil before putting the rocker box cover back on.

<cm400 bobber engine>

The engine is now ready to reinstall, I am going to leave the rotor cover off until later, ditto for the new clutch cover.

<wammo engine in frame>

Now the engine is sitting back in the frame. The intake spigots are new replacements for the damaged originals.

<I like puzzles>

I like puzzles

Now its time to sort out the wiring harness. Sometimes it is easier to start from scratch but for right now I am going to attempt to reuse at least some portions of the factory harness.

<honda twin regulator rectifier>

Normally on a custom motorcycle one would attempt to hide such parts as the regulator rectifier but since I am going for a post apocalyptic paramilitary look on this machine it is bolted to the side of the rear fender out in plain sight.

<Honda CV carbs>

Once I get the wiring sorted out and get the wheels back on it’ll be time top restore this set of CV carbs. I will probably do an in depth post on that process when the time comes.

Peace Y’all

A Wammo Update

Posted on by Motopsycho

Just thought I’d share what’s going on around the barn a little bit. Getting the fender, seat and battery box figured out now means that it is time for the real work to begin.

<custom Honda bobber>

A few days ago I dropped the engine out but since then most of my spare time has been spent elbows deep in the severely damaged engine of some guys atv. Today I caught a little break since I have to order more parts for the Brute Force, it gave me a chance to finish tearing this one down to a bare frame.

<bobbed honda 400 frame>

<CM400 rigid frame>

Now the previous owner of this fine mosheen was a true rat biker and whenever he felt the need to attach something else to it that could not be tied or glued on he resorted to that favorite motorcycling custom trick of using self drilling screws to tack shit to his motorcycle. So I spent a couple of hours brazing up small holes in the frame, before it was time to break out the angle grinder and safety glasses and remove all of the unwanted tabs from this frame.

Some of the tabs were saved and will be reused on this and other projects, but most of them were tossed into the scrap bin to be recycled. Now its time to soak it down with oven cleaner and get it completely clean so I can do a little more welding then clean it all up and prep for paint.

<oven cleaner motorcycle frame>

By the way, I have been documenting the crankshaft replacement of the Kawasaki Brute Force 750 and will be posting a ton of pictures in the days to come so stick around.

Peace Y’all

Custom ABS Plastic Battery Box

Posted on by Motopsycho

When I last posted the last picture was of sheet of plastic with my cardboard pattern lying on it. After tracing around it with a marker I used my bandsaw and a Dremel to cut it out to shape. Be certain when cutting plastic with any high speed rotary tool the you use either a saw blade or the router attachment. Do not under any circumstances try to use a metal cutoff wheel for plastic and of course always wear eye protection.

<custom abs plastic battery box>

This next step involves extremely high heat, possible hot metal & molten plastic. It is your responsibility to take all reasonable precautions to see that you don’t get hurt.

The first piece to get bent is the lower brace. It will get reshaped even more later but for now let’s just bend it to a nice 90 degree angle. First you clamp it into a vise sandwiched between a couple of metal angles and start heating it.

<heat forming abs plastic>

When it gets warm it will bend very easily. To get a really good square corner take a slab of wood or another piece of metal and press down on the corner and hold it for a minute as it cools.

<heat forming abs plastic>

<heat forming abs plastic>

<square corner abs plastic sheet>

After this I bent the tabs in for the sides. These tabs my not really be necessary but I like the security of having large bonding surfaces to hold parts like this together, especially in a high vibration environment like a motorcycle.

<build custom motorcycle battery box>

Bending the sides up to form the box takes a little more thought. If you have enough equipment and desire absolute perfection you should carefully clamp each corner to be folded and follow the procedures shown above. In the interest of time and since this motorcycle is going to be another deliberate neo-rat, I simply heated the plastic along the bend lines until it was bendable and then used two blocks of wood to form it to shape. Hey it works for me.

<custom chopper battery box>

<custom Honda chopper battery box>

Before moving on to the next step you will need to test the fit and make sure that your battery fits properly. At this point you can reheat the plastic and adjust things somewhat, once you glue everything together it’s not so easy

<custom chopper Shorai battery box>

When you glue it together be sure to use plenty of ABS cement. Do not use any other type of cement with ABS plastic.

<custom chopper plastic battery box>

One of the nicer things about working with ABS is that the cement is very thick and you can use it as a gap filler to seal off cracks and imperfections and then sand it down after it all dries.

<custom bobber plastic battery box>

<custom motorcycle plastic battery box>

Here is a quick shot of it in the frame with the bottom brace glued into place. At this point the battery box is pretty well done except for sanding and painting.

<custom rigid frame chopper,bobber,motorcycle abs battery box>

The next steps for Project Wammo is going to be a complete teardown to the bare frame to finish removing all the unwanted tabs & finish up the welding. Then it’ll go back together as a roller with new bearings, fork seals, brakes, tires, etc. Then it will be time to freshen up the engine & paint the sucker. Stick around & enjoy the fun.